Quebecor Media Group announced the latest in a series of partnerships and product launches Tuesday, aimed at strengthening its position among millennial audiences 15-30.
The Montreal company has entered into a partnership with the French company Meltygroup, which operates a collection of 24 digital properties spanning millennial-friendly content verticals including travel and adventure, film, music, videogames, tech and TV.
Caroline Roy, vice-president of Quebecor Digital, said details of the partnership are still being defined, but described it as a “multi-platform deployment” that will involve web, mobile and social.
All platforms will be housed under the brand Melty.ca, with Roy telling Marketing the goal is to launch the property before the end of the year.
Roy said Quebecor would be Meltygroup’s “official representative” in Canada, but did not disclose terms of the deal. She did not reveal how much original Canadian content the site would contain, but said content would be determined by deploying social listening tools to determine what topics are in vogue with Canadian audiences.
“It all depends on what Canadians 15-30 will be looking for,” she said.
Meltygroup set a new audience record in September, with 30 million viewer visits (approximately 56% of its traffic comes from mobile). The company has previously expanded into Italy and Spain, with media reports saying additional rollouts are planned in Germany and Brazil.
In a release, Quebecor said Meltygroup – which has been described as a Huffington Post for youth audiences – “truly has its finger on the pulse of what today’s young people care and talk about.”
Its properties reportedly reach one of every three French people between the ages of 15 and 30, while its employees – average age 27 – produce between 300-500 content pieces each day.
The company also boasts what Quebecor called “proven native advertising expertise,” making it a valuable partner for advertisers keen to reach millennial audiences.
While acknowledging Melty.ca would be “very strong” in native advertising, Roy said advertising across the property would be “diversified” and would include traditional digital units. “[Native] will be important, but it won’t be the entire offering,” she said.
Roy said the partnership stems from a review of Quebecor’s portfolio, particularly as it pertains to key millennial audiences. “We saw it as an opportunity for us to strengthening our position with that audience and learn about their behaviour,” she said.
“[We] have decided to put our leadership and the talent of our teams to work to position ourselves in this key sector,” said Quebecor Media Group and TVA Group president and CEO Julie Tremblay, in a release. “These initiatives represent crucial opportunities for advertisers, who are constantly on the lookout for new ways to reach young people.”
Earlier this month, Quebecor entered the burgeoning multi-channel network space with the launch of Goji, a talent collective serving online video creators that a company official said would lead to a “new era” in entertainment for young adults.
Roy said while there is enormous potential for owned-and-operated properties like Goji, the digital world is increasingly defined by partnerships. “We’ve been meeting with different groups around the world for the past year; sometimes we see have similar problems or opportunities and it makes sense to partner.”
